The phrase “quintessential Vermont” means different things to different people. Wilderness, family farms, quaint villages, skiing and riding, staunch individualism, cottage industry, and a fetish for slow food can all fit into the definition. But ‘home for the holidays’ usually means one thing to all of us: family.

This concept is possibly an emotional amalgam of Jimmy Stewart’s It’s a Wonderful Life and anything painted by Norman Rockwell. This is not as far-fetched as you might imagine: the community spirit that saved George Bailey from his untimely demise Christmas Eve is alive and well in Addison County; Rockwell lived in Vermont in the 1940’s and used his neighbors as models for his depiction of our best loved American values.

A hilltop 3-bedroom home in the middle of the wonderful Village of Lincoln, this immaculate, classic Greek-Revival style New England farmhouse is just a short walk to the general store, church, library, community hall, and town recreation fields & tennis court. The property even includes a post and beam barn (circa 2003) with a greenhouse, a small stage for concerts and theater productions, a gallery space with track lighting, and stairs to large, open full floor above.

Home staging can influence buyers’ perceptions of a home and even motivate them to pay more, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2015 Profile of Home Staging, a survey of more than 2,300 REALTORS® representing buyers and sellers.

Eighty-one percent of REALTORS® who represent buyers say that staged homes make it easier for their home buyers to visualize a property as their future home. Forty-six percent of buyer agents also reported that staging makes their buyers more willing to tour a home they viewed online, and 45 percent say that buyers tend to view the value of the home more positively if it is decorated to buyers’ tastes.

Twenty-eight percent of agents said their buyers are even more willing to overlook other property faults if a home is staged, according to NAR’s survey.

Buyer agents also say that staging can potentially influence how much their buyers are willing to offer for a home. According to the survey, thirty-two percent of buyer agents surveyed say that staged homes increase the dollar value buyers are willing to offer for a home by 1 percent to 5 percent; 16 percent said it could increase offers by 6 percent to 10 percent.

However, not everyone chooses to stage a home in prepping it for sale. Forty-four percent of seller agents say they only suggest that sellers declutter and fix property faults, and they do not recommend that their clients should professionally stage the home.

Indeed, about 34 percent of seller agents surveyed say they stage all the homes they list; 13 percent stage only “difficult” homes to sell; and 4 percent only stage high-priced homes they list, according to the NAR survey.

Here are additional findings from the NAR survey:

The median dollar value to stage a home: $675 per home

Among homes that are staged, here’s how it is often paid for: 62 percent of sellers’ agents offer the home staging servicing to sellers; 39 percent say that the sellers pay for staging prior to the home being listed; 10 percent of sellers pay for staging after the home is sold; and 3 percent of agents’ firms pay for the home staging service.

The three most important rooms to be staged for buyers: living room, kitchen, and master bedroom.

]]>What Keeps Vermont Vermont? Sustainability, Creativity, Teamwork…http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2017/05/what-keeps-vermont-vermont/
http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2017/05/what-keeps-vermont-vermont/#respondMon, 08 May 2017 19:14:43 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9349Read More...]]>This spring and summer we are looking beyond the excellent micro-brews and fabulous local foods into some of the more tangible characteristics of Vermont that make it (and keep it) such a wonderful place to live and breathe. Namely the beautiful land and a hardscrabble determination to keep it as it is.

We enjoyed an excellent example of what keeps Vermont Vermont on a recent tour of Birdseye Building Company‘s latest project. It’s a 130 acre property on Lake Champlain, basically the point between Arnold Bay and White Bay in Panton. John Seibert, one of the founders of Birdseye, describes it as a dream come true project. As we drive along the entrance road, it’s easy to see why. The place feels like Shelburne Farms.

It is a case of historic reclamation meets land and shoreline preservation. Here is the bird’s eye view of the project (sorry I could not resist):

130 acres on Lake Champlain consisting of open fields, trails, woods, cliffs, and tall pines. A parcel of this size, and on the lake, preserves a good chunk of our Green Mountain State.

A recreated 1803 timber-frame barn using salvaged posts from a 200-year-old barn in Shoreham and historic English-style joinery.

Two guest houses made of an 1860’s Greek revival farmhouse that was on the property, divided and moved to become guest houses one facing Arnold Bay, the other facing White Bay. All (or most) of the material from the original is being reclaimed and reused in the new buildings. The Arnold Bay house will be more contemporary – glass gables facing the bay, polished concrete floors. The White Bay house will more closely recreate the Greek revival. Both houses will include details like original mahogany doors, slate roofs (with snow hooks!), original flooring, and stone foundations.

A caretaker cottage will be moved from one side of the property to a spot closer to the lake (we did not see this on our tour).

The shoreline stabilization work is extensive and exquisite. Birdseye stayed within the shoreline protection act guidelines to create something beautiful and well, stable! This work included an ice road used to bring in the Panton stone slabs from the local quarry (of course we are thrilled that is sunny and May, but this would have been great to see!).

The main house is a 1920’s colonial that includes multiple wings, bay windows, original moldings and trim, 4 fireplaces, black marble lintils (that reveal fossils and ancient nautilus), and Panton stone steps down into Lake Champlain.

The magnitude of this two-year project is gob-smacking. But on a more fundamental level, the project represents the very essence of what keeps Vermont Vermont. A collaborative design-build effort between Birdseye and TruexCullins Architecture, the creative output of the project is greater than the sum of its parts. The 43 Birdseye employees, the design team, the property owners, the landscapers, carpenters, and stone masons work together seamlessly in what feels like a modern barn raising.

To a person, the craftsmen on the site look happy! Not the dancing-in-the-street kind of happy, but the whistle-while-you-work kind. From the guys resurfacing the timber posts to the guys cutting the Panton stone and trimming out the windows, everyone is smiling. Maybe it was the sweet May weather that made them all happy? After such a gripping Vermont winter, I’m sure that this is part of it. But really I think it is a shared joy of the purposeful hard work of Vermonters keeping Vermont Vermont.

]]>http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2017/05/what-keeps-vermont-vermont/feed/0Vermont Home Buyers FAQshttp://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/10/vermont-home-buyers-faqs/
http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/10/vermont-home-buyers-faqs/#respondWed, 21 Oct 2015 17:43:21 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9509Read More...]]>Vermont real estate is some of the most sought after in the country. One look out the window will tell you why. It’s gorgeous here! Who wouldn’t want to buy a home here? That is why we put together a Vermont Home Buyer list of frequently asked questions. Get your wheels turning and start to give some shape to your dream of buying your Vermont dream home (search for it here).

Here is the first installment. During the next few months, we’ll give you some answers that will help you realize to home ownership. If your questions are not answered here, please contact me.

Should I talk with a bank before looking at homes?
If you are serious about buying a home, it is always a good idea to investigate your lending opportunities first. Get a pre-qualifying letter from your bank or lending institution. It will make the seller feel much more confident about negotiating with you. And no seller will accept an offer that is subject to financing without a pre-qualifying letter.

Can I find a rent-to-own property?
There are certainly rent-to-own properties here in Vermont. Because mortgages are harder to come by these days, they are more popular now than ever before. But rent-to-own properties are driving rental prices higher, which makes renting more difficult. You might as well buy. You’ll save in the long run.

Do I really need a Realtor when buying a home?
Absolutely! Your Realtor is the person who can give you the background information you will need on the neighborhood, school systems, and community that interests you. Realtors have vital information about the inner workings of a community, its people, every day life, what it’s like to live there.

Most of the time a Realtor can tell you about the fairness of the asking price for the property. Because of a statewide school property tax, Vermont has the Common Level of Appraisal (an indicator of the level at which properties in a town are appraised in relation to the actual Fair Market Value). Homes that are listed at 80-70% of their assessment must be reappraised under state law. All towns in Vermont are required to keep track of sale prices versus assessments. This is a great tool you can use to start to get an understanding of what is happening within your desired town. But it doesn’t necessarily paint the whole picture.

Because Vermont (and especially Addison County) has so few condos, apartments, or developments in which properties and their values are fairly uniform and thus more easily assessed, more information is often needed before you can make an appropriate offer on Vermont real estate. This is where you need a Realtor.

Realtors go into houses all the time, we participate in Realtor tours, and we know the market. We have the empirical experience of knowing properties intimately. We understand property values town-by-town and neighborhood-by-neighborhood, which can be difficult in rural Vermont where each building is unique. This level of local knowledge, experience and depth of statistical research combined with the Common Level of Appraisal will give you invaluable information on a very big decision: your home.

Who pays the Realtor fees when buying a home?
The seller pays the Realtor fees. Even if you do not use a Realtor, the seller still has to pay the listing agent. Use a Realtor! You might as well take advantage of good representation.

What is a short sale?
When there is more debt on the property than the asking price, it is called a short sale; the property is “under water.” To purchase such a property, you must negotiate with the bank that owns it. You might even consider getting financing through that bank.

What is a foreclosure?
A foreclosure is a property the bank already owns. The seller has defaulted of payments and the bank has taken possession of the property. Often foreclosures are less expensive than other real estate, but exercise caution when buying a foreclosed property. When a property owner is heading toward foreclosure, he may not be maintaining the property as one who has made regular payments; faults in the property may start to develop due to neglect. In these cases you will need to add an inspection contingency to your purchasing contract.

]]>http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/10/vermont-home-buyers-faqs/feed/0September in Vermont is the Fairest Monthhttp://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/09/september-in-vermont-is-the-fairest-month/
http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/09/september-in-vermont-is-the-fairest-month/#respondMon, 07 Sep 2015 21:10:38 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9477Read More...]]>“And every fair from fair sometime declines.” Except in Vermont. Obviously, the Bard had never been here in September. September in Vermont feels like a reward for good behavior. It’s like a long weekend after a particularly challenging workweek. The harvest is in, the kids are back at school, the air smells of apples. It’s time to celebrate.

Which is exactly what Vermonters do this time of year. Fairs and Festivals crisscross the state. I thought I’d mention a few here, in case you want to make plans.

The Vermont State Fair in Rutland runs through this weekend. This fair dates back to 1846. It’s one of the oldest agricultural state fairs in the country. According to Vermontstatefair.org, “The fair became popular enough that, in 1849, the Rutland Railroad began putting extra cars on their trains to bring people from all over Vermont and Western New York to visit.” This fair is wonderful and very traditional: pig races, pulling contests, agricultural displays and demonstrations, petting zoo, rides. Attending, you’ll feel like a character in something written by E.B. White. Saturday is Bluegrass day and the Demolition Derby!

Small Farms Food Fest at Shelburne Orchards, September 14. This festival is just about the sweetest event in the Champlain Valley. The orchard is a beautiful place right on the Lake; the festival celebrates local farms, local food, and local music. Come hungry.

The Tunbridge World’s Fair, September 17-20. The Tunbridge Fair, started in 1867, is legendary. In the way that the Woodstock Music Festival shapes our concept of an era, The Tunbridge Fair colors our notion of much of Vermont. Once famous for girlie shows (some run by the local sheriff’s department) and unlimited celebratory beverages, this annual fair has more recently cleaned up its act. Today it is known for family-friendly activities such as farming demonstrations, “working antiques displays, horse and ox pulling, horse racing, cattle and horse shows, junior exhibits, floral and 4-H exhibits, contra dancing, gymkhana, and many free shows.” (from the Tunbridge World’s Fair Facebook page). And like Shelburne Orchards, Tunbridge is such a beautiful place, it’s worth the trip regardless of what’s happening in town.

Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival, September 19. Entitled “A celebration of Vermont farms, forest, and future,” the Harvest Festival is as good a reason as any to visit Shelburne Farms. This 3,800-acre lakefront farm “renowned for its innovative practices, hackney horse breeding enterprise, and grand family residence,” is the quintessential agricultural estate designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. The harvest festival features traditional craft and agricultural demonstrations, educational exhibits focused on energy and the environment, children’s activities, and of course, food.

Enjoy.

]]>http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/09/september-in-vermont-is-the-fairest-month/feed/0Coffee in the Green Mountainshttp://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/08/coffee-in-the-green-mountains/
http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/08/coffee-in-the-green-mountains/#respondMon, 24 Aug 2015 20:21:07 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9462Read More...]]>“The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.” And “Maxwell House is, Maxwell House is, good to the last drop, Maxwell House.”

Go ahead and sing along. I know you know them; you know you know them. These coffee jingles were all over television and radio. If you are of a certain age you might even remember the taste and texture of these iconic brews. But how did we get from Folgers to the Venti Half-Soy Nonfat Decaf Organic Double-Shot Extra Hot With Foam? How, if we were raised on instant coffee, could we even conceive of making that leap?

Loving coffee is a serious business. Coffee lovers have their favorite blends, their unique coffee mugs, their circadian rituals. These lovers know few occasions without their sacred brew. An impromptu camping trip, or overnight on the boat, might give rise to such an occasion. Forgotten filters or French press could lead you to that forsaken land of instant coffee crystals. Camp store and marina shelves are filled with such food staples of yesteryear.

What could cause the American palate (psyche?) to abandon such comfort for the intimidating espresso or the half-caf-half-decaf-extra-hot? Community! As it turns out, our need for community trumps even our need to cling to the comforting flavors of our youth.

Our coffee shops and coffee houses are not unlike the ancient tea houses along the Silk Road. This is the place where we stop to chat, find community, and get our bearings. Though today our coffee shops are more likely to be about headphones, laptops and solitude, they are still the place where we find connection—to our favorite barista, to our favorite table, favorite time of day. Even if we don’t recognize the person at the next table, our concern/obsession with the source of the bean and its growers makes us feel connected to a bigger community of bean believers.

Addison County has not been left out of the coffee buzz. And while Starbucks products are ubiquitous in the civilized world, we don’t have a shop in Middlebury or Bristol. Both towns have plenty of coffee shops, though and even a few artisan coffee roasters: Awake Organic Coffee Roasters and Vermont Coffee Company top the list. These two roasters toast up some flavors that put the rich back into ritual. Thank heaven for Vermont Coffee Company’s dark roast.

]]>http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/08/coffee-in-the-green-mountains/feed/0Moonlight in Vermont, Light Pollution, and the Perseid Meteor Showerhttp://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/08/moonlight-in-vermont-light-pollution-and-the-perseid-meteor-shower/
http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/08/moonlight-in-vermont-light-pollution-and-the-perseid-meteor-shower/#respondThu, 06 Aug 2015 19:04:11 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9446Read More...]]>Celestial events have got us looking up lately. The recent blue moon and the approaching peak of the Perseid Meteor Showers are keeping us awake at night to enjoy the summer and the heavens. But even here in rural Vermont, light pollution is a growing problem for amateur astronomers (and some nighttime sleepers).

As Treehugger.com puts it, “The rampant and careless use of artificial light is destroying one of our most inspiring natural resources – the nighttime sky.” (http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/19-dark-sky-parks-where-heavens-steal-show.html) According to Nationalgeographic.com “It’s important to remember that a night sky was accessible to everyone through human history, and now that’s gone. The night sky influenced art and science and religion for thousands of years—and it did something that we’re now cutting ourselves off from. The night sky is a resource that belongs to all of us.” (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/130811-light-pollution-sky-space-science-perseids-meteor-stars-sky-night/)

Though there are no dark-sky parks per se in Vermont, there are some places you can still find inspiration from the nighttime sky without too much light encroachment. Addison County has no major light polluters. With only one city, Vergennes, and no big towns other than Middlebury, opportunities for star gazing are still pretty good – weather permitting, of course. This is great news because the confluence of the New Moon with the peak of Perseid Meteor Shower is in the offing. The Perseids are active from July 17 until August 24, their peak will be around August 11 when it may be possible to see as many as 60 to a 100 meteors per hour from a dark place; the New Moon is August 14, and thus the skies will be fairly dark and great for viewing stars.

“Humans have been observing the Perseid meteor shower for at least 2,000 years, NASA officials said.” (http://www.space.com/22332-perseid-meteor-shower-peaking-now.html) Here are some tips on how you can become one of them:

The best viewing will be in to the northeast – look just halfway between the sky’s zenith and the horizon.

Get comfy. Stretch out on the ground in your sleeping bag or recline on a chaise lounge. Standing, or even sitting, and staring up at the sky for long periods of time will put a kink in your neck and possibly your enjoyment of the heavenly show.

Bundle up. It will be much chillier in the middle of the night. The coldest time of night often corresponds with the darkest time of night. You’ll likely find the best viewing just before dawn.

Bring binoculars and bug spray.

Check out Middlebury College’s Clear Sky chart to see what your chances are for good viewing. (http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/MddlBryObkey.html?1)

The Perseid Meteor Shower does not have a song of its own, as far as we know. Let Moonlight in Vermont suffice. Happy stargazing:

The maximum of the Perseid activity in 2015 is expected during the night of the 12th August 2015. The Perseids is the name of a prolific meteor shower. The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the peak in activity being between August 9 and 14, depending on the particular location of the stream. During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour.They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle’s orbit, Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere. As with all meteor showers, the rate is greatest in the pre-dawn hours, since the side of the Earth nearest to turning into the sun scoops up more meteors as the Earth moves through space. This text has been taken from www.cute-calendar.com.

The maximum of the Perseid activity in 2015 is expected during the night of the 12th August 2015. The Perseids is the name of a prolific meteor shower. The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the peak in activity being between August 9 and 14, depending on the particular location of the stream. During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour.
This text has been taken from www.cute-calendar.com.

]]>http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/08/moonlight-in-vermont-light-pollution-and-the-perseid-meteor-shower/feed/0Smaller Down Payments Lure More Buyershttp://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/02/smaller-down-payments-lure-more-buyers/
Tue, 10 Feb 2015 16:15:24 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9269Read More...]]>Some home buyers are stepping off the sidelines as more lenders require less money up-front on a home purchase.

Recently, more borrowers are able to pay 3 percent or even less of a home’s purchase price to get a mortgage – a big change from when at least 20 percent down payments were practically the norm post-recession.

Additionally, some lenders are luring more home buyers back by waiving mortgage-related fees and even showing more acceptance of allowing down payments to be made by others, such as the borrower’s family members, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Still, borrowers must have good credit scores and a steady income to often qualify for these smaller down payment loans.

In two big moves in recent weeks, the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages with down payments as low as 3.5 percent, announced it is lowering its annual mortgage-insurance premiums on new mortgages beginning Monday. The move is expected to save a typical first-time home buyer about $900 a year. What’s more, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae recently lowered the minimum down payments they will accept on loans they back from 5 percent to 3 percent.

]]>The Curse Of The First Offerhttp://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/02/the-curse-of-the-first-offer/
Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:41:16 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9261Read More...]]>Sometimes when everything goes right we have trouble accepting that fact. Perhaps nowhere is this phenomenon more clearly illustrated than in the case where a seller receives a good offer right away.

The annals of real estate are well stocked with stories of sellers who refused to take a good, but not perfect, first offer, and who then waited a long, long time before finally accepting something else at a considerably lower price. And most agents who have been around for a while know to shudder when a good strong offer is made almost at the outset of a listing; for the seller’s reservations are almost inevitable. “Did we list it too low?” “If someone will offer this much so soon, maybe we should wait a while and see if we can get more.”

When we read of Silicon Valley listings routinely selling at 15% above list price, and when we’ve just recently come through a period when multiple-offer situations were commonplace, it is understandable that such thoughts come to mind. Nonetheless, they are generally unfounded, especially if the market is anywhere near “normal”, as ours is today.

As an antidote to the ill effects of the “curse of the first offer”, a couple of observations might be kept in mind.

First, the fact that an offer is received early in the listing period — even in the first few days — doesn’t mean that the property has been listed too low.

It is easy to overlook how very efficient the residential real estate marketplace has become. Modern multiple listing systems (MLS) provide agents, and thus their buyer clients, with virtually instant access to information about existing inventory and about what has newly come on the market. In the old, old days a buyer’s agent did not become aware of new listings until “the book” (i.e. the compilation of MLS listings) was published. There might have been a lag time of ten days or more from the time the listing was taken.

Today, a good buyer’s agent will have electronically entered a “profile” of his client’s needs and price range into the system. Then, whenever he logs on to the MLS, he will be notified if a listing has been entered that matches that profile. In a low-inventory market such as we have had recently, buyers’ agents will log on a half-dozen times a day, or more, to see if an appropriate new listing has been entered. Moreover, in most systems the buyer’s agent is able to place the buyer himself on a similar notification.

The point is that potential buyers learn quickly of the existence of an appropriate new listing. Thus a flurry of activity at the outset of the listing does not necessarily imply a too-low price; rather, it reflects the efficiency of the system.

Secondly, an early first offer does not imply that the seller should hold out for full price.

We all know that there is typically a bit of a dance in the pricing and negotiating for a property. Sellers, with the concurrence of their agents, will usually list their property for an amount that is both higher than what they believe its value to be and higher than what they would be satisfied to receive. Why? Because they know that buyers almost always want and expect to pay less than the listed price

However, when an otherwise acceptable offer comes in near the outset of a listing period, sellers are frequently tempted to hold out for full price, or much closer to it than would normally be expected. Caution should be exercised in this regard.

For one thing, as we have noted, exposure of the property to buyers occurs pretty quickly nowadays, and sellers shouldn’t assume that there are going to be more, much less higher, offers as the listing period progresses.

Secondly, there often can be a transactional benefit to “leaving something on the table.” A real estate transaction is a process. These days, with inspections and disclosures, there are almost always “second negotiations” during the course of escrow. A buyer who feels ground down in the purchase negotiation may well be more difficult to deal with as other issues arise.Written by Bob Hunt

]]>Winter Storms and Cozy Vermont Homes with Fireplaceshttp://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/02/vermont-homes-with-fireplaces/
http://vermonthomeproperties.com/2015/02/vermont-homes-with-fireplaces/#respondWed, 04 Feb 2015 17:18:38 +0000http://vermonthomeproperties.com/?p=9181Read More...]]>Winter Storm Juno toyed with us here in Vermont. It coyly flirted with our snow-day hopes as it skirted the edges of Addison County. While avid skiers and winter sports fans prayed and did snow-dances, Massachusetts and New York got buried with snow. Vermont was lightly dusted with just a few inches.

Juno’s aftermath is much more promising for snow-lovers, however. It is snowing beautifully now with predicted snow totals up to 12 inches. While the Farmers’ Almanac predictions for this winter included the phrase “unrelenting bitter cold,” this kind of snowy blanket is just the ticket to warm any skier’s heart.

But all this winter wonderland exuberance has got some of us reaching for another log to stoke the fire. Even as we enjoy the snow, we crave the warmth of the hearth. Frank Lloyd Wright is often quoted as saying, the hearth is the psychological center of the home. It is not at all surprising that the fire is central to our being – especially here in Vermont. Keep the home fires burning! The fireplace is intrinsic to our connection to the things we love: family, community, home, food, light…It’s good for us.

A recent study published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology examines the beneficial impacts of the beloved crackling fire in the fireplace. Here is the abstract:

The importance of fire in human evolutionary history is widely acknowledged but the extent not fully explored. Fires involve flickering light, crackling sounds, warmth, and a distinctive smell. For early humans, fire likely extended the day, provided heat, helped with hunting, warded off predators and insects, illuminated dark places, and facilitated cooking. Campfires also may have provided social nexus and relaxation effects that could have enhanced prosocial behavior. According to this hypothesis, calmer, more tolerant people would have benefited in the social milieu via fireside interactions relative to individuals less susceptible to relaxation response…Findings confirm that hearth and campfires induce relaxation as part of a multisensory, absorptive, and social experience. Enhancements to relaxation capacities in the human social brain likely took place via feedback involving these and other variables.

I invite you to induce some relaxation and enhance your prosocial behavior right here in Addison County in one of these two wonderful Cornwall Vermont homes with fabulous central fireplaces (click each image below for more info).